Boyband Rants:
November and December 2001 Archive
1st November 2001 - Sugar and Shoes
I was Daphne Blake of Scooby Doo (pictures 1, 2, and 3 presented for your inspection) for Halloween this year. I got several compliments on the costume and a couple of pictures taken of me, one for UCI's yearbook. Wonder if that picture will make it in or not. I even went to work in costume, which was fun. But this year Halloween doesn't seem to have been that big. I heard reports that not a lot of kids were out trick-or-treating, and not one in a hundred students at UCI was dressed up. I realize it's probably in reaction to the events of September, but goodness, people, what's the point of having a holiday where you're supposed to dress up if you don't? ("Jinkies!" exclaims my inner Daphne, shocked.)
Purchased Chapter 1, of course. Yay, copy of "Drowning"! I also purchased "What's Going On"--and was told it had been a good thing I'd reserved it! Which didn't surprise me. Which was the reason I'd reserved it.
Saw the video of "Drowning." Interesting. A few nice AJ moments. But maybe they've always been there and it's just now we're really seeing them? Nick looked like a normal human being, not a pop star--a nice fantasy. Howie's look for the video reminded me of latter-day NKOTB. Puzzlin'. But there was a nice sublayer in the video of the spiritual meaning of love, and some lyrics were clarified for me just by watching. Still, it pushed no envelopes, no edge. It was, ultimately, slightly disappointing in that respect.
3rd November 2001 - Mou Ichidou
Went to see On The Line again tonight. There was a group of three very obvious (but actually not at all annoying) *N Sync fangirls sitting behind me--and apparently I'd met at least one of them before (if you're reading this, sorry, I have a poor memory!) because she was surprised, thinking I was a Backstreet fan. And she knew I was studying Japanese. But it was cool--the atmosphere in the theater was loose, friendly. I was able to get down some "study" on the movie and what could've used work. As follows:
- Rod having a separate apartment but for all purposes and effects living with the others. Necessary for the Julie subplot, but otherwise just really annoying.
- How we're shown that Rod has the music gigs, Eric is a vendor at Wrigley Field, and the third housemate (blanking on name) is probably a grad student, yet they seem to have all this free time to be spent at the apartment.
- Along similiar lines, Kevin bringing the food to the baseball barbeque. If they're housemates, one assumes the others contribute some to the food costs? Worked better before it was changed from "Because I brought the beer." Please note there wasn't any beer on the table at that point--it was soda. Yet elsewhere in the movie Budweiser's financial contribution (Kevin's ad idea and in the bar) is rather obvious.
- Kevin's interior monologue at the copier when he's finally getting some cojones. It would work in a book--but not necessarily in a movie. Needs looking at.
- Cartoony sound effects. Yes, cute. Very. Annoying as fuck. Delete!
- Nathan giving Kevin the baseball. Cliche.
- Jackie's line about "billboards all over the city." It telegraphed Kevin's future action.
I did really like a lot of things. The kid in the beginning explaining Kevin's problems was great. Rod and Julie's subplot was great. Brady ending up as a romance columnist was great. And I loved, loved, the bits about Lucille the copier. Refreshing. I can't rate the acting. I have absolutely no eye for acting. I'm simple. Naive. I'll believe a LOT of things and have the imagination to justify what I don't. So I cannot tell good acting from bad. I'm also still finding it fascinating that the gay question was raised five separate times, subtly and less subtly, in the movie. One: Granite-days Rod telling Kevin "Don't be a tulip!" Two: guy in office (along with the secretary pool) checking out what is referred to as the Bass Ass. Three: When they were doing the dating pool thing and Brady called. Four: Rod writing a romantic love song for a friend of his (Kevin)--is it or is it not all about the JoLa? Inquiring minds want to know. And five: the ending credits with two certain other Syncs.
According to rumor mill, there's an interview somewhere with the film's director which delineates Lance's method of choosing a director for his film. It apparently involved an invitation to a theme park and riding all the rides twice without losing one's lunch. I listened to Jane's report of this in disbelief and then near-hysterical giggles. Okay, so Jamie isn't "Business Spice," he's "Eccentric Spice." I guess it's true about it being the quiet ones you gotta watch. "Stealth" has got to refer to the way he just sneaks under your radar and then pops up, surprising you with these oddities. Not even counting the rumor about the silk Dr. Seuss jammies. Happily willing to believe just about anything. And to forgive just about anything.
I think there comes a point where as a fan you either become disillusioned or resolve to love whomever you love in spite of themselves. I've reached that point with Lansten. He's... oh, what's the word I'm looking for here... "petty," perhaps? He makes no bones about his dislike of other groups. O-Town, Backstreet. He can be both subtle and vicious about it, too, which is a dangerous combination. I think that if I ever did get to meet him, to get into the movie business, I'd have to keep it foremost in my mind that not everyone is my friend. A harsh lesson I still haven't fully learned. He's Hollywood Lance, after all. I think he might maneuver things to his favor against anyone who wasn't part of his inner circle or one of his friends. But at the same time (he evinces so many contradictory qualities) I also think he's a nice, friendly guy. Maybe he just scares me. Makes me want to curl up inside my Douglas and let someone else worry about him. Eccentricity is beautiful. Eccentricity is charming. Eccentricity is frightening and maybe dangerous.
Business Spice--Lance. Broadway Spice--Joey. Fashion Spice--Chris. Star Spice--Justin. Sleepy Spice--Joshua. Many other Spices, too, of course, but those are the flavors of the moment. Going to ask Mel and Jeanne for BSB and *N Sync doujins from Japan. Oh, saw the video for "What's Going On." Nice. Even if it only had the two lead Syncs in it. I'm still miffed that none of the others got solos on Celebrity. Hey, if Wade ever became an official Sync, would they have to change the name to "En Sync"? Or would he just take possession of the asterisk? But I digress. The video. Nice setup. Stark. You have to concentrate on the music, the message. And Kevin in cornrows. Jane was pleased. Is it wrong or right that I've had my sole drooling fangirl moment in the past decade over Kevin Richardson? (When he was de-sleeving himself at last month's concert.) He's married, for goodness' sake. But at least this proves I can have such a moment. Okay, almost 2am, going to bed now. Final thought of the day: there's something seriously whacked in a world where Brian Littrell is considered a sex symbol. Oyasumi nasai.
9th November 2001 - My Power, My Pleasure, My Pain
Kind of an interesting week. Maybe. My friend Kyri, one of the best-mannered, best-educated men I've ever had the pleasure to meet in person, appears to have developed at least a passing interest in pop music as a result of catching the video for "Gone" on TRL. So, knowing that I am into such music, he e-mails me inquiring as to the blond lead singer. Narrowing down the video and which singer in particular he means, I inform him that he's taken a liking to "Justin Timberlake. AKA the boyfriend of Britney Spears." Pause on Kyri's part. Then a drawn-out rueful realization of "Ohhhh, fuuuuuck." Yes, having put the pieces together as to his new fetish, Kyriacos has fallen nonetheless into the trap of Timberlake. He's coming out here for Thanksgiving, so I'll show him videos and such then. It was highly amusing listening to The President lose his composure even for that tiny instant and curse. Skipping like an excited schoolgirl I can occasionally expect from Kyri, but profanity? Never. And despite all this the man is, to the best of my knowledge, straight with an aesthetic eye. One of those for whom they broke the mold.
My preorders at Sam Goody have become a weekly thing at this point. I picked up a few things this week--BSB's Chapter One DVD, Britney's new album, the 1934 film version of The Scarlet Pimpernel on DVD for a mere $6.99, and the original cast recording of Sondheim's Into The Woods. And the Harry Potter soundtrack. That one snuck up from behind. John Williams music! But I've mostly been listening to ITW. I adore Bernadette Peters, escpecially as the Witch. I love The Witch. I remember several years ago watching it on PBS. I wonder if it's been released to video? "Possible. Very, very possible." I think I like best the part in "Last Midnight" where the Witch tells all the others that "You're so nice. You're not good, you're not bad, you're just nice. I'm not good, I'm not nice, I'm just right. I'm the Witch, you're the world." I do wish the CD had more than just the songs, but ah well. Will have to see about finding that video version. Pity it won't play in my computer, but that's what a Discman is for, right? I'll probably listen to Britney at school tomorrow. As to the Ch.1 DVD--yay, get to see a few previously unseen vids! Considering the possibility of ficcing LTL.
What else? Oh, this week has proven my utter wusshood. I gave blood (finally!) on Tuesday. I am apparently a very healthy wuss, if nothing else--I haven't even noticed its loss, no dizziness, headache, etcetera--but I nearly had a panic attack in giving it. And I would NOT look at the needle or tube leading out of my arm. I don't know if it's a needle phobia or what, but I was just scared. Stupid me. Silly me. Irrational me. I wonder if JC donates blood? Probably not. I also finished downloading the last of the footage from The Concert For New York today (thus utterly clearing my stuff off of my parental units' TiVo slate) and started crying while watching it. Why was I crying? Wussdom aside. I mean, that was supposed to be happy things, right? Music to heal the hurt. Instead, it dug up the hurt anew. I haven't watched either the NYC or Wachington D.C. concerts yet. I think I should. I have to grow up and heal someday, right?
I still search on eBay for a few items. I want a copy of the script for On The Line. I also very badly want a certain BSB shirt in XL. It was being sold on the first leg of the Black and Blue World Tour... white, with comic book/cartoon versions of the boys standing on the compass. If anyone sees or can sell me this shirt, PLEASE let me know! I couldn't afford it on the first leg and they weren't selling it on the second. Shameless begging going on here.
21st December 2001 - Musings Upon Departure
It's been a while since I've written here, hasn't it? Well, quick updates on my life. I was busy with finals and various levels of flu. Due to the flu, I failed one of the finals and thus must re-take the class. Which sucks. I was in bed for two days after that final--fortunately I was able to get up and make it through the next one with flying colors if not perfect health. I'm hoping this means I've gotten all my usual winter sick out of the way now, because I'm leaving in two days to spend two weeks in England with my boyfriend and his family. I've only met them once before, and that was before we were dating, as well as being 3 years ago or more, so I'm a bit nervous. Ah well. Hopefully it shall go well.
I've actually been considering rather a few things over the past weeks, many of which stem from listening to the CDs of The Concert For New York. I've decided the Backstreet Boys have pissed me off. Quit Playing Games, while a decent enough song, has no relevance. They should not have chosen to sing that song. Show Me The Meaning would have fit, but I'm somewhat thankful they didn't choose it. It's a sucker-punch song but that concert was supposed to be for the living. Energy given, not ebbed. So I don't know what song they should have sung, but not the one they did. Larger Than Life, perhaps? Saa na. But as Paul McCartney has sung, "some people want to fill the world with silly love songs / what's wrong with that, I'd like to know / 'cause here we go again." Is it right that BSB has only one or two political songs in their repetoire? Do I want them to be another U2, and have I the right to expect that in the future they will pen more of their own material? I think I do. They're seeking legitimacy, and frankly, that's the way to earn it. Don't sing what other people feel--sing what YOU feel. And I want to know what they feel. I admit to worshipping Howie on the basis of the love ballads he writes, but I expect more from Kevin and, I admit, more from Nick. Nick has all this potential just laying there and I want to see it tapped and thrown into stark relief of his writing talents. The Reverend Littrell and Alexander James, too, I am wanting to see more from. I mean, they can write. I've seen it. I've heard it. I love "Time" and "Answer to Our Life"--the former for textual analysis and the latter for impact and meaning. They're neither of them "Drowning," but they're a step in the right direction.
To argue this, however, is the fact that *N Sync has writing credits all over 80% of their new album and I'm searching for depth there. As well as non-Justin and non-JC solos, but that's me. I love a lot of the music from the album--but I love it for sound, not meaning. It's at the level of describing a situation, but not really telling me why I should care about it, or what meaning it has to my life.
Is depth and insight too much to ask for? All I want for Christmas, Santa....
I know they're still honing their craft, but frankly, both groups and their members will be doing so until they die. It's the nature of art. I want them to be at the level of writing their own songs that can make me cry and can make me care. I want them to be actively striving towards that level. I want another U2 of them, a group with political relevance. I want another Pink Floyd of them, a group that can make me weep at implications as well as sound. I want another Greatful Dead of them, honeyed songs that live in the bones and refuse to die out long after the group is gone.
These things I want, but while I will always have a right to hope for them, I do not think I have a right to expect them. My standards can only be applied to myself, never to others. So I shall continue to hope that the next album, the next song, will be the one. I shall continue to love the voices, the melodies and the harmonies, and the people behind them. I shall continue to battle the naive hopes which say "they don't sleep with groupies" yet attempt to maintain the optomism which views them in best light. I shall continue to be conflicted, and angsty, and bubbly brainless, because that is my lot in life and so shall I suffer it to be.
And now, the increasing level of my maudlinity begs me to adjourn to bed. So, merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
28th December 2001 - Cold Winds
Yo, it's me! Writing from England!
It has been fun being here over the holidays. I got here on Christmas Eve after a nice ten hour flight. The food was good and I managed to doze a bit before arriving. Even worked out a page and half poem on the voyage. Then I got to have Christmas with my boyfriend and his family and am quite happy (as, I think, are they) on what I received. The full set of Harry Potter books--British edition! Among other things. And we went to see The Fellowship of the Ring, which was quite nice. There are nitpicks, of course, but I have decided that I am in love with Frodo. He is angsty eye candy. I definitely need to check out more of Ian Holm's work (I know that he was in From Hell which I missed in the cinemas, among others). He was excellent as Bilbo. And... Sean Astin! Had I not known that he was Sam, I would never have known! I get the feeling that when Legolas started walking on top of the snow some of the others were miffed. I wonder about his backstory with Aragorn because there definitely was some. It will be interesting to see how Merry and Pippin develop over the next two films. Cate Blanchett was good, of course, but I was a tad disappointed in the view presented of Galadriel. She was scary, yes, as an immortal elf queen ought to be, but she had little warmth to her. Also Gimli falling for her was cut out--I feel Gimli got short-shifted in general. Alas. Loved the intonation on Boromir's "They've got a cave troll." It was like, great, I should have expected this, after all, what ELSE can go wrong? Heheh. ^^ In Arwen I found a new heroine.
So what have I been up to in Merry Olde England? Kareshi and I went to Winchester yesterday and explored the cathedral there. It's where, among others, Jane Austen is buried. And it had the loveliest stained glass window I've ever seen. We also went to the Great Hall which is all that remains of Winchester Castle and saw the Round Table (c. 1250-1280). Whether or not it's the real one is anyone's guess.
Today we went to Stonehenge. And it was COLD. Even through sweatshirt and coat and jacket and gloves I was cold. It's in the middle of a plain, and like with Cambridge there's nothing between there and the North Pole but the odd passing reindeer. You're not actually allowed near the stones, of course, just get to walk in a roped-off circle around them, but we got some lovely photographs nonetheless. One of the stones has a face on it! After that we headed northish to see if we could find any of the chalk horses cut into the hills of Salisbury Plain. We found one... kind of. We're not sure if it was a real one but there was a horsish design in dead grass on a hillside. It was beginning to get dark at that point (night falls early) so we headed back. I also saw a couple of pheasants just running around by the roadside! I didn't know they existed in the wild. Just cages at county fairs. So it was a good day. I also introduced Douglas' mother to American-style pancakes. British pancakes are more akin to crepes. I think she liked them--she asked for the recipe. So on the 31st he and I head up to Cambridge for New Year's Eve and then hang around there to see friends get married and I fly back on the seventh and start classes the next day. wurrble Not thinking about classes yet! Anyhow, oyasumi nasai! *nibbles mince pie and sips tea*
